Ballot Math / School districts / Roosevelt Elementary
School board race: Roosevelt Elementary School District

Roosevelt Elementary: two seats, one name on the ballot, and two write-in challengers

November 3, 2026 general election. Roosevelt Elementary School District serves south Phoenix. Only one of the three candidates in this race is printed on the ballot; the other two are certified write-ins whose names you must write in yourself.
How this race works: two of the board's five seats are up, both for four-year terms. Ashley Hodge is the only printed candidate. Patricia Valenzuela and Janelle Wood are certified write-ins: write in a name and fill in the oval, and only votes for certified write-ins count. You may vote for up to two candidates in any combination of printed and write-in.

Ashley Hodge (incumbent)

Raised in south Phoenix and a third-generation Roosevelt district graduate. She previously worked as a high school social worker in the Phoenix Union High School District. She holds a bachelor's and master's in social work and a doctorate in behavioral health from Arizona State University, plus a second doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Southern California.
  • Stated priorities: collaborating with the community for the best and most equitable education possible, student-centered decision-making, and strong student-teacher relationships.

Patricia Valenzuela (write-in)

An enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community and a graduate of the Isaac School District and Phoenix Union High School who has lived in south Phoenix for five years. She taught third and fourth grade at Sacaton Elementary School for five years, then served the Gila River community as assistant director of education and Head Start director, and later managed Arizona's statewide Quality First Redesign.
  • Stated priorities: student achievement, teacher retention, fiscal responsibility, and parent partnerships.

Janelle Wood (write-in)

A Phoenix faith leader, author, and education advocate, and the founder and CEO of Black Mothers Forum, Inc., which launched the School to Purpose Academies network of K-8 microschools. She also served as an ESA Outreach Ambassador for the Arizona Department of Education.
  • Stated priorities: standing alongside teachers and staff through the district's Reinventing Roosevelt plan, and implementing the Maxine O. Bush Future Ready Academy.

Verification notes

  • School board campaigns file finance reports with Maricopa County. No raised or spent totals for these campaigns appeared in the coverage we reviewed; we print no totals rather than guess.
  • Valenzuela's surname is spelled as in the county certified list and the Republic; some voter guides render it slightly differently. What matters for a write-in is writing the name recognizably; election workers judge voter intent.
  • Roosevelt has no bond or override question on the November 2026 ballot in the county sources we checked.

How to vote without getting your ballot rejected

  • Mail it by Tuesday, October 27, 2026. After that day, do not mail it: use a drop box or a vote center instead.
  • It must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3. Postmarks do not count.
  • Sign and date the affidavit envelope, and write a current phone number on it.
  • For a write-in candidate, write the name clearly and fill in the oval. Only certified write-in candidates can receive countable votes.

Sources

Ballot Math: analysis only, no endorsements. Every candidate in this race got the same template: background, stated priorities, the record that exists, and honest notes where the record is thin.